Energy Consumption (Televisions)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her most recent estimate is of the daily energy consumption resulting from the use of standby units on televisions; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government's Market Transformation Programme estimates that the 60 million television sets in the UK consume approximately 3 million Kwh per day while they are in stand by mode—approximately 8 per cent. of their total average daily energy consumption.
	In order to try to reduce the overall energy consumed by televisions the Market Transformation Programme (www.mtprog.com) has been encouraging manufacturers to reduce both the "on" and the "stand-by" power consumption of televisions through the adoption of design improvements, an EU wide voluntary code of conduct, and best practice guidelines and targets.
	The EU-wide voluntary agreement on televisions has been particularly successful in reducing the average energy consumed by televisions in stand-by mode with the majority of new televisions sold in the UK soon to consume around 1 watt of power in stand-by mode rather than the 3–8 watts consumed by older models. We expect this agreement to be extended to cover additional consumer electronics shortly.
	In addition, the Government"s initiative on sustainable procurement, announced last autumn, includes a requirement for Government Departments which purchase televisions to specify televisions with stand-by power requirements of less that 1 watt.

Care Homes

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) care homes and (b) care home beds there have been in England in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the number of care homes and places in England for adults aged 18 and over, at 31 March for the years 1997 to 2001 is shown in the following table.
	I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that figures for later years were collected by the National Care Standards Commission, and now CSCI, but that comparable details are not available.
	
		Number of care homes(1) and places for adults aged 18 and over in England, 31 March 1997 to 2001 Rounded numbers
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Homes 28,900 29,000 28,700 28,300 27,500 
			 Places 534,400 553,500 546,200 539,200 528,000 
		
	
	(1) Includes residential homes, nursing homes, mental nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics.
	Source:
	RA and RH(N).

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, have been made by his Department in each year since 1997; and what the costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of overseas trips and on internal travel within countries is not available.
	Other information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Cost of flights 
		
		
			 1997–98 325,515 
			 1998–99 353,263 
			 1999–2000 313,946 
			 2000–01 320,406 
			 2001–02 388,460 
			 2002–03 391,313 
			 2003–04 464,271 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			  Other overseas travel(2) 
		
		
			 1997–98 59,037 
			 1998–99 61,564 
			 1999–2000 46,361 
			 2000–01 41,005 
			 2001–02 37,120 
			 2002–03 18,817 
			 2003–04 39,080 
		
	
	(2) Rail and other travel.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Costs of overseas subsistence(3) 
		
		
			 1997–98 183,366 
			 1998–99 170,461 
			 1999–2000 188,733 
			 2000–01 183,248 
			 2001–02 156,911 
			 2002–03 159,108 
			 2003–04 203,274 
		
	
	(3) Including hotel costs.
	All travel complied with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, Travel by Minister and the Civil Service Management Code.

Green Spaces

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has held with (a) the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (b) the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on the role of natural green spaces in the forthcoming delivery plan on physical activity.

Melanie Johnson: Both I and departmental officials meet regularly with colleagues from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to discuss a range of issues. Both Departments are members of the activity co-ordination team (ACT), which I chair jointly with my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Sport (Richard Caborn). ACT is co-ordinating Government action on increasing participation in physical activity and sport.
	DEFRA and ODPM were both involved in the discussions leading up to publication of the Public Health White Paper, "Choosing Health, Making healthy choices easier", and have an important contribution to make to the delivery plan for physical activity.
	The Department is fully involved in the preparations for delivery of the ODPM Public Service Agreement Target 8, concerning cleaner, safer and greener public spaces.

Health Staff (Tyne and Wear)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nursing, (b) professional, (c) technical and (d) medical staff were employed in (i) the Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority area and (ii) the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Trust in each year since 1999.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		NHS hospital, public health medicine and community health services: Medical and dental staff and professionally qualified clinical staff in the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear strategic health authority area and the Newcastle Upon Tyne hospitals NHS trust as at 30 September in each year since 1999. Headcount
		
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear  
			 Medical and dental staff 2,407 2,558 2,622 2,745 2,861 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 11,081 11,098 11,906 12,332 12,455 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 3,143 3,291 3,428 3,888 4,155 
			 Of which:  
			 Allied health professionals 1,480 1,571 1,611 1,696 1,832 
			 Other qualified STT 1,663 1,720 1,817 2,192 2,323 
			 Ambulance staff 617 512 512 541 545 
			 Of which:  
			 RTD Newcastle Upon Tyne hospitals NHS trust  
			 Medical and dental staff 967 1,073 1,136 1,173 1,190 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 3,398 3,213 3,539 3,616 3,613 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 1,010 1,009 1,075 1,357 1,441 
			 Of which:  
			 Allied health professionals 394 394 417 383 419 
			 Other qualified STT 616 615 658 974 1,022 
		
	
	Sources:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
	Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census

Hospital-acquired Infections

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the prevalence of hospital acquired infections in (a) NHS community hospitals and (b) other NHS residential settings in the community;
	(2)  if he will publish the surveillance data on rates of MRSA in community hospitals; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many NHS patients in (a) NHS community hospitals, (b) intermediate care beds and (c) NHS community settings contracted (i) MRSA and (ii) other hospital acquired infections in the last period for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 10 January 2005
	The mandatory surveillance of hospital-acquired infections, including Methicillin Resistant "Staphylococcus aureus", is carried out only in national health service acute trusts. Data are not collected centrally for community hospitals, intermediate care beds or NHS community/residential settings.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many studies considered by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency's expert working group on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors included (a) raw data from clinical trials and (b) summaries of data.

Rosie Winterton: The findings of the committee on safety of medicines' expert working group on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were based on detailed analysis of a number of sources of data including clinical trial data provided by pharmaceutical companies, studies on the general practice research database, the published literature and individual reports from health professionals and patients. Full details of the data considered and the conclusions of the expert working group are presented in the report of the group, which is available on the website of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (www.mhra.gov.uk). Copies of the report are available in the Library.

Afghanistan

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his policy towards funding crop sprayer aircraft in support of the Afghan Government's poppy eradication programme.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Government of Afghanistan's stated policy is not to use aerial methods to eradicate opium poppy crops. DFID supports this policy position and have no intention of using DFID funds to support aerial crop spraying in any form.
	DFID does, though, provide significant assistance to the counter narcotics effort in Afghanistan, mainly through our support to the provision of alternative livelihoods.

E-mails

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's policy is in relation to the storage and deletion of e-mails; and whether this policy has been reviewed in the past 12 months.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) continues to implement well established policies and procedures for the review and disposal of files in accordance with its administrative needs and the Public Records Acts. DFID has had a clear policy on the retention of significant e-mails on subject files since 1997(e-mails which record significant information or form part of a decision or policy development must be printed and placed on the relevant registered file. These files are retained in line with disposal schedules agreed with the National Archives, which have not been reviewed during the last 12 months.
	Insignificant e-mails and those of short term importance are deleted when no longer required and e-mails remaining in staff mailboxes are deleted after 90 days. This position has recently been re-stated in an e-mail policy approved in November 2004. The policy will be revised in 2005 to comply with electronic document and records management.
	Further e-mail guidance is available on the National Archives website at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov. uk/electronicrecords/advice/pdf/managing emails.pdf.

Tsunami Relief Appeal

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the UK Government's financial contribution towards the Tsunami relief appeal will come from the contingency fund.

Hilary Benn: The UK Government have so far allocated £75 million as an immediate humanitarian response to the Tsunami disaster. The initial £50 million comprised of £20 million drawn from DFID's humanitarian reserve, and £30 million from its central contingency reserve. The remaining £25 million, announced on 10 January, is being met through additional provision from the Treasury's reserve. None of this funding has been taken from our existing development programmes.

Zimbabwe

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the nature of European Development Fund support for Zimbabwe.

Hilary Benn: Since 2001, the EC has suspended normal development assistance in Zimbabwe and has redirected their assistance to those sectors that directly support the population. The main areas of intervention under the European Development Fund (EOF) are in humanitarian assistance, health, education and community development sectors. Humanitarian assistance focuses on food security and targets support to rural vulnerable households, through seed and fertiliser packs and small-scale irrigation schemes. The health programme contributes to the availability of safe blood and the supply of essential drugs. The education programme provides school improvement grants and the community development support is mainly for micro projects, involving small grants to communities along similar lines to the UK Government's small grant scheme.

Foreign Languages

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the take-up of modern foreign languages at Key Stage 4 following the declassification of modern foreign languages as a foundation subject.

Stephen Twigg: The changes to the statutory curriculum at Key Stage 4 were only introduced from September 2004, as such no assessment of take-up of modern foreign languages has yet been made.
	The changes have been introduced to enable schools to offer more choice and flexibility to their pupils, facilitating the introduction of new types of learning—something which proved difficult within the constraints of the previous requirements.
	A joint letter from myself and the National Director for Languages was sent earlier this year to all Chief Education Officers reminding them of the statutory requirements at Key Stage 4 and asking them to monitor the situation and promote modern foreign languages within their authority.
	While we anticipate a temporary decline in the number of pupils choosing to follow a course in modern foreign languages at Key Stage 4, the introduction of an entitlement to study languages at Key Stage 2 together with the implementation of the Key Stage 3 Modern Foreign Languages Framework—which has already had a positive impact on attitudes and achievement—will engage and enthuse more pupils to continue to learn languages from age 14 into adulthood. By providing opportunities other than the traditional GCSEs and A-levels, we are giving more accreditation opportunities which we hope will motivate more learners to study languages at Key Stage 4.

Pupil:Teacher Ratios

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many qualified teachers were in service at (a) maintained nursery and primary schools and (b) maintained secondary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne in each year since 1998; and what the ratio of teachers to pupils was in each sector in each case.

Stephen Twigg: The following tables show the headcount and full-time equivalent number of qualified teachers and the pupil:teacher ratio for maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne local education authority in each year since 1998.
	
		Maintained Nursery
		
			  Qualified teachers  
			  Headcount FTE Pupil:teacher ratio 
		
		
			 1998 25 24.0 23.8 
			 1999 24 24.0 23.2 
			 2000 26 25.0 23.0 
			 2001 26 257 234 
			 2002 27 25.4 23.2 
			 2003 29 27.3 21.7 
			 2004 36 30.8 18.5 
		
	
	
		Maintained Primary (4)
		
			  Qualified teachers 
			  Headcount FTE Pupil:teacher ratio 
		
		
			 1998 973 874.0 24.1 
			 1999 969 897.3 23.2 
			 2000 947 869.4 23.5 
			 2001 950 880.1 22.9 
			 2002 939 871.3 22.9 
			 2003 940 864.4 22.6 
			 2004 960 860.2 22.5 
		
	
	(4) Includes middle schools as deemed
	
		Maintained Secondary (5)
		
			  Qualified teachers  
			  Headcount FTE Pupil:teacher ratio 
		
		
			 1998 1,107 1,034.8 17.1 
			 1999 1,130 1,048.9 17.0 
			 2000 1,130 1,053.5 17.0 
			 2001 1,161 1,038.9 16.6 
			 2002 1,160 1,103.3 16.1 
			 2003 1,137 1,070.7 16.6 
			 2004 1,195 1,100.0 15.9 
		
	
	(5) Includes middle schools as deemed
	Source:
	Annual School Census

Local Government

David Borrow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the merits of moving to a unitary system of local government in Lancashire.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is satisfied that the recommendations for unitary local government in Lancashire put forward by the Boundary Committee (with a minor modification regarding Ormskirk) would have represented effective structures for local government if an elected Regional Assembly had been established. However, as my right Hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister made clear in a statement to the House on 8 November 2004, following the decision of voters in the North East referendum, there will be no reorganisation of local government arising from our proposals for elected Regional Assemblies.

Fire Prevention

Jim Knight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what support is available from his Department to fire and rescue authorities to enable them to provide advice to vulnerable households on how to prevent fire.

Nick Raynsford: The Community Fire Safety Innovation Fund supports local initiatives to reduce fire deaths; the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are funding free smoke detectors and fire suppression equipment; Revenue Support Grant takes account of authorities' prevention activity; the research programme identifies good practice; the National Community Fire Safety Centre provides publicity material and guidance.

Fire Prevention

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department is taking to support professional development of local government staff.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister offers support for the professional development of local government staff through a number of routes. These include:
	A National Graduate Development programme, in partnership with the Local Government Employers Organisation;
	A new Future Leadership programme, for middle managers, funded through the National Capacity Building Programme;
	A National Centre for Sustainable Communities Skills to promote world class skills sets for everyone engaged in the sustainable communities initiative.
	Authorities are also being offered opportunities for focussed training to improve their management of projects and programmes and service delivery both generally, through the Capacity Building initiative, and in the specific areas of housing provision, IT and e-government service delivery.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Hugo Swire: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if his Department will release additional funds to help county councils meet their obligations to pay disabled facilities grants.

Keith Hill: Specified capital grants paid by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to local authorities for disabled facilities grant (DFG) can only be paid to local housing authorities. I announced DFG allocations to local authorities for 2005–06 on 27 December 2004. Devon authorities received an increase in funding of 10 per cent. compared with allocations for 2004–05. Total funds available for the DFG programme in England have also been increased from £103.5 million in 2005–06 to £120.8 million p.a. in 2006–07 and 2007–08. Allocations to individual authorities for these years will be made later this year following completion of the inter-departmental review of the DFG programme which is currently underway.

Local Government Finance

Hugo Swire: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the percentage change in the environment, protective and cultural services block of revenue support grant to district councils will be for 2005–06.

Nick Raynsford: Revenue Support Grant is an unhypothecated block grant. This means that it is not possible to identify the amount of funding that authorities receive for a specific service. Shire districts formula grant (i.e. Revenue Support Grant plus redistributed business rates) is calculated using the total of their Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services Formula Spending Share and their Capital Financing Formula Spending Share. The increase in formula grant under the provisional 2005–06 settlement on a like-for-like basis for shire districts is £59.797, or 4.0 per cent..
	Under the provisional 2005–06 settlement, shire districts will receive an increase of £67.051 million, or 2.2 per cent., in their Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services Formula Spending Share on a like-for-like basis. Formula Spending Shares are neither grant nor are they the Government"s assessment of how much an authority should spend on a particular service.

ASBOs

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been breached in each (a) month and (b) year since they were introduced; and what percentage of the total handed out this represented in each case.

Hazel Blears: The available information is given in the table. Breach data is currently available for the period from June 2000 to December 2002. The figures are available yearly, they are not produced by month. Data up to 2002 shows that two thirds of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) are not breached. Breach and disposal (sentencing) data up to December 2003 will be available shortly.
	Courts take ASBO breaches seriously. From Home Office data we know that a significant number of ASBO breaches result in immediate custody.
	
		Number of ASBOs issued, as reported to the Home Office, and breached in each year, by period
		
			  Number issued Number breached (year of breach) Number breached as a percentage of the number issued 
		
		
			 2000(6) 135 14 10 
			 2001 322 113 35 
			 2002 403 178 44 
			 Total 2000–2002 860 305 35 
		
	
	(6) From 1 June 2000. Data from 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 were collected, for the whole period, by police force area on aggregate numbers

Drug Testing/Treatment Orders

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of drug testing and treatment orders have been breached in each year since their introduction, broken down by local authority area.

Paul Goggins: It is not possible to accurately calculate the total number or percentage of orders breached in any one year. Some orders made in one year were breached in the following year; some cases are subject to multiple breach proceedings; some breach proceedings have been instigated and not yet dealt with by the courts; and 7,640 orders (30 per cent. of the orders made since roll-out) are still running. A completion target for Drug Testing and Treatment Orders (DTTO) of 35 per cent. was introduced from April 2004. The overall completion rate between April—October 2004 was 34 per cent. and each probation area's completion rate for the same period is shown in the table.
	
		DTTO Completion performance 2004–05
		
			 Area name: Target achieved(percentage) 
		
		
			 Staffordshire 14 
			 Warwickshire 36 
			 West Mercia 34 
			 West Midlands 40 
			 West Midlands Region 34 
			   
			 County Durham 44 
			 Northumbria 49 
			 Teesside 34 
			 North East Region 43 
			   
			 Bedfordshire 43 
			 Cambridgeshire 47 
			 Essex 22 
			 Hertfordshire 25 
			 Norfolk 19 
			 Suffolk 37 
			 East Region 31 
			   
			 Cheshire 28 
			 Cumbria 41 
			 Greater Manchester 35 
			 Lancashire 34 
			 Merseyside 47 
			 North West Region 37 
			   
			 Derbyshire 42 
			 Leicestershire and Rutland 40 
			 Lincolnshire 48 
			 Northamptonshire 24 
			 Nottinghamshire 32 
			 East Midlands Region 37 
			   
			 Humberside 32 
			 North Yorkshire 15 
			 South Yorkshire 23 
			 West Yorkshire 23 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Region24 
			   
			 Hampshire 31 
			 Kent 22 
			 Surrey 26 
			 Sussex 38 
			 Thames Valley 26 
			 South East Region 29 
			   
			 Avon and Somerset 26 
			 Devon and Cornwall 32 
			 Dorset 51 
			 Gloucestershire 30 
			 Wiltshire 21 
			 South West Region 32 
			   
			 London East 21 
			 London North 35 
			 London South 53 
			 London West 22 
			 London Region 35 
			   
			 Dyfed/Powys 44 
			 Gwent 41 
			 North Wales 40 
			 South Wales 38 
			 Wales Region 40

Fixed Penalty Notices

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the offences for which fixed penalty notices can be issued; and what guidance has been issued to authorities by his Department about circumstances in which such notices can be delivered.

Hazel Blears: The penalty notice for disorder scheme was extended by The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (Amendment) and Police Reform Act 2002 (Modification) Order 2004 (SI 2540/2004), made on 27 September this year to add a further 10 offences to the existing 11 offences. A complete list of the offences and penalties is shown in the table.
	Operational guidance is provided to the police on issuing penalty notices for disorder. This has been revised to take into account the new offences and will be published on the Home Office website shortly at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crimpol/police/penalty/index. html
	Copies of the revised police operational guidance will be placed in the Library at the same time.
	
		
			 Offence creating provision Description of offence 
		
		
			 Offences attracting £80 penalty  
			 Section 80 of the Explosives Act 1875(c.17)() Throwing fireworks in a thoroughfare 
			 Section 31 of the Fire Services Act 1947 (c.41)() Knowingly giving a false alarm to a fire brigade 
			 Section 169A of the Licensing Act 1964(c.26) Sale of alcohol to a person under 18 
			 Section 169C(2) and (3) of the Licensing Act 1964 (c.26) Buying or attempting to buy alcohol for a person under 18 
			 Section 169F of the Licensing Act 1964 (c.26) Delivery of alcohol to a person under 18 or allowing such delivery 
			 Section 5(2) of the Criminal Law Act1967(c.58) Wasting police time or giving false report 
			 Section 91 of the Criminal Justice Act 1 967 (c.80) Disorderly behaviour while drunk in a public place 
			 Section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 (c.60) Theft 
			 Section 1(1 ) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 (c.48) Destroying or damaging property 
			 Section 5 of the Public Order Act1986 (c.64) Behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress 
			 Section 127(2) of the Communications Act 2003 (c.21) Using a public electronic communications network in order to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety 
			 Section 11 of the Fireworks Act 2003 (c.22) Contravention of a prohibition or failure to comply with a requirement imposed by or under fireworks regulations or making false statements 
			 Section 49 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (C.21K) Knowingly giving a false alarm to a person acting on behalf of a fire and rescue authority 
			 Offences attracting £50 penalty  
			 Section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872 (c.94) Being drunk in a highway, other public place or licensed premises 
			 Section 55 of the British Transport Commission Act 1949 (c.xxix) Trespassing on a railway 
			 Section 56 of the British Transport Commission Act 1949 (c.xxix) Throwing stones etc. at trains or other things on railways 
			 Section 168E of the Licensing Act 1964 (c.26) Consumption of alcohol by a person under 18 or allowing such consumption 
			 Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c.43) Depositing and leaving litter 
			 Section 12 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (c.16) Consumption of alcohol in designated public place

Identity Cards

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the likely size of the national identity register in (a) 2010, (b) 2020 and (c) 2030.

Des Browne: The current working assumption is that the number of enrolments recorded on the National Identity Register at the end of the financial year which begins in:
	
		
			  Number (million) 
		
		
			 (a) 2010 11.3 
			 (b) 2020 70.0 
			 (c) 2030 111.3 
		
	
	The National Identity Register will continue to hold records of deceased persons and those who have registered and then left the country to avoid fraudulent use of these identities.

National Offender Management Service

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representation the relevant trade unions have on the National Offender Management Service Board.

Paul Goggins: Having initially agreed to accept my invitation to join the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Board Ms Judy McKnight (General Secretary of NAPO) and Mr. Colin Moses (National Chairman of POA) recently announced their resignation.
	I have made it clear that I strongly support regular and open dialogue with Trade Unions as part of the development of NOMS. The NOMS Joint Consultative Council (JCC) provides a forum for communication, discussion, consultation and information sharing between the NOMS and the Trade Unions representing staff within the National Probation Service, Her Majesty's Prison Service and the core Home Office on those issues that fall outside the remits of the existing service-specific consultation frameworks.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who owns the land on which each London prison is built.

Paul Goggins: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, Secretary of State for the Home Department, owns the freehold of the land for the London prisons of: Belmarsh, Brixton, Feltham, Holloway, Latchmere House, Pentonville, Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs and also the private prison site of Bronzefield (Ashford, Middlesex).

Sentencing

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward plans to ensure that the courts impose a fine or community sentence as the first option for most non-violent offences.

Paul Goggins: The Government have made it clear that prison should be reserved for the most serious, dangerous and persistent offenders, and that community sentences are an effective alternative to short- term imprisonment for less serious, non-violent offenders. It is for the Sentencing Guidelines Council to provide guidelines to the courts on seriousness and the starting points for offences.
	
		Table A: Findings of guilt and sentence of immediate custody(9) at all courts for motoring offences, England and Wales, 1997
		
			  Number of offences 
			  Males 
			 Offence Total findings of guilt Immediate custody Percentage 
		
		
			 Driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs
			 Unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment) 1,778 318 18 
			 Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit 77,676 5,344 7 
			 Driving and failing to provide specimen for analysis (breath, blood or urine) 7,507 1,033 14 
			 In charge of a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) 377 36 10 
			 In charge of motor vehicle, with alcohol in the blood above the prescibed limit 1,970 98 5 
			 In charge of motor vehicle, and failing to provide specimen for analysis (breath, blood or urine) 451 55 12 
			 Failing to provide specimen for initial breath test 2,019 10 0 
			 
			 Other motoring offences
			 Causing death by dangerous driving 229 183 80 
			 Causing death by careless driving under influence of drink or drugs 62 56 90 
			 Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking 25 15 60 
			 Causing bodily harm 10 7 70 
			 Dangerous driving 5,738 2,454 43 
			 Failing to stop after accident, etc. 9,091 313 3 
			 Failing to report accident within 24 hours 6,890 141 2 
			 Aggravated vehicle taking(driving dangerously, causing injury or damage 7,580 3,332 44 
			 Aggravated vehicle taking(criminal damage of £5,000 or under 1,628 452 28 
			 Unauthorised taking or the theft of a motor vehicle 16,732 5,478 33 
			 Theft of a motor vehicle 3,317 1,241 37 
			 Driving while disqualified 41,067 20,677 50 
			 Fraud and forgery(Driving licence 602 16 3 
			 Fraud and forgery(Insurance certificate 1,050 19 2 
			 Fraud and forgery(registration and licensing 7,198 56 1 
			 Fraud and forgery(Operator's licence 66 4 6 
			 Fraud and forgery(Test certificate 453 30 7 
			 Failing to give name and address etc. when required 4,672 31 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			  Females 
			 Offence Total findings of guilt Immediate custody Percentage 
		
		
			 Driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs
			 Unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment) 154 15 10 
			 Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit 7,250 136 2 
			 Driving and failing to provide specimen for analysis (breath, blood or urine) 606 16 3 
			 In charge of a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) 31 — — 
			 In charge of motor vehicle, with alcohol in the blood above the prescibed limit 150 3 2 
			 In charge of motor vehicle, and failing to provide specimen for analysis (breath, blood or urine) 38 — — 
			 Failing to provide specimen for initial breath test 195 6 3 
			 
			 Other motoring offences
			 Causing death by dangerous driving 8 1 13 
			 Causing death by careless driving under influence of drink or drugs 5 — — 
			 Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking — — — 
			 Causing bodily harm — — — 
			 Dangerous driving 149 14 9 
			 Failing to stop after accident, etc. 1,081 12 1 
			 Failing to report accident within 24 hours 924 5 1 
			 Aggravated vehicle taking(driving dangerously, causing injury or damage 238 17 7 
			 Aggravated vehicle taking(criminal damage of £5,000 or under 77 3 4 
			 Unauthorised taking or the theft of a motor vehicle 603 40 7 
			 Theft of a motor vehicle 120 15 13 
			 Driving while disqualified 1,387 320 23 
			 Fraud and forgery(Driving licence 38 — — 
			 Fraud and forgery(Insurance certificate 79 — — 
			 Fraud and forgery(registration and licensing 542 — — 
			 Fraud and forgery(Operator's licence 1 — — 
			 Fraud and forgery(Test certificate 28 — — 
			 Failing to give name and address etc. when required 459 1 0 
		
	
	(9) Immediate custody(young offender institution and unsuspended sentence of imprisonment

Sentencing

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision the Government makes to assist women to fulfil community sentences, with particular reference to child care.

Paul Goggins: Many local probation areas have developed their own strategies to ensure that women are able to fulfil community sentences. Such policies include supporting access to childcare provision registered with the local authority.
	The National Probation Directorate is currently developing a national policy for work with women offenders which will be issued in 2005, after consultation.
	The National Probation Service recognises that providing community sentences to women offenders raises issues which must be addressed in order to ensure equality of provision.
	Most offending behaviour programmes (excluding sex offender and domestic abuse programmes) are accessible to female offenders and have materials appropriately adapted. The National Probation Service also has developed one programme specifically designed for women offenders. Some probation areas are able to deliver programmes to women only groups.
	When implementing community punishment orders, probation areas take into account the particular needs of female offenders, including childcare, in the type of placement and the hours of work.

All-seater Stadiums

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has recently received regarding the relaxation of the requirements for Premier League and First Division football grounds to be all-seater; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: In September 2004 the Department received representations from Peter Caton, Campaign Co-ordinator of the Stand Up Sit Down campaign asking the Government to consider their proposals for the re-introduction of standing at Premier League and First Division football matches.
	The Department has also received a number of letters from Members of Parliament following representations they have received from their constituents asking the Government to consider the Stand Up Sit Down proposals.
	Having carefully considered the Stand Up Sit Down solutions, it is clear that these measures would run against the Government's current policy that football grounds in the top two divisions shall be all-seated. There is also a concern that the proposal would seek to introduce standing accommodation without the safeguards that are currently required on standing terraces in the lower divisions.
	The all-seater policy has been in place since 1991, following Lord Justice Taylor's report into the Hillsborough disaster. Lord Taylor summarised his position by saying that there is no cure-all solution that will achieve complete safety and solve all problems to do with crowd behaviour and control. However he was satisfied that seating does more to achieve those objectives than any other measure.
	Following a pre-election commitment, the Government reviewed the All-Seater policy in consultation with the Football Licensing Authority (FLA) in 1997. That review concurred with Lord Taylor's conclusion that seated accommodation is demonstrably safer than standing accommodation, regardless of how the stadium is configured.
	The FLA's figures for injuries at UK stadia over recent seasons consistently show that spectators are approximately twice as likely to be injured at grounds where standing is permitted, compared to all-seater stadia.

All-seater Stadiums

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent requests she has received from organisations requesting a meeting to discuss legislation relating to seating at football matches; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: In September 2004 the Department received representations from Peter Caton, Campaign Co-ordinator of the Stand Up Sit Down campaign offering to meet the Department to discuss their proposals for the re-introduction of standing at football matches.
	The Department has carefully considered the Stand Up Sit Down proposals in consultation with the Football Licensing Authority (FLA) who are one of the Departments sponsored bodies and are our advisors on matters of safety at football grounds.
	I understand that the FLA have agreed to meet Mr. Caton to discuss the proposals further.
	It is right that the Government should consider any representations made regarding standing at football matches. As Lord Taylor recognised, the debate about the virtues of seating at football matches is a controversial one and must be approached with sensitivity and an open mind.
	However, it remains the Government's position that the grounds of the clubs in the top two divisions of football should remain all-seated.

Spam E-mails

Howard Flight: To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee what steps have been taken since 16 June to protect hon. Members, peers and their staff against spam e-mails; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Key: Since June 2004 a new e-mail filtering service has been in operation. This third party service scans all inbound e-mail and blocks those that are found to contain viruses or content known to be Spam. During the first six months of operation 11,439,431 e-mails were scanned. Of these, 4,982,447 (43.55 per cent.) were found to be Spam and 991,491 (8.66 per cent.) to contain viruses. Intended recipients are notified when e-mails have been blocked and can check those judged to be Spam if they wish to do so. Based on customer feedback received to date, the service is working very well.

Education Unit

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission how many pupils and students took part in visits to the House of Commons arranged by the House's Education Unit during the 2003–04 parliamentary Session, broken down by (i) region and nation of the UK and (ii) primary, secondary, and tertiary sector.

Archy Kirkwood: In the 2003–04 Session the Parliamentary Education Unit (the unit is a shared service representing both the House of Commons and the House of Lords) welcomed groups as follows:
	
		
			 Region Autumn visits Citizenship (Primary) Citizenship (Secondary) Discover Parliament Student (Mock) Parliament Special Schools (Secondary) Overall total 
		
		
			 South East 118 28 10 19 18 12 205 
			 South West 6 3 1 2 2 2 16 
			 East Anglia 26 0 2 7 8 0 43 
			 West Midlands 12 4 1 1 0 1 19 
			 East Midlands 9 2 0 0 0 0 11 
			 North East 3 0 0 0 2 0 5 
			 North West 8 0 1 1 2 0 12 
			 Yorks and Humberside 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 
			 Scotland 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Wales 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Northern Ireland 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Number of schools 188 563032 15 338 
			 Primary 0 39 — 0 0 0 39 
			 Secondary 188 — 17 30 32 15 282 
			 Total number students 5,979 1,248 544 960 512 525 9,768 
		
	
	In the same period the Central Tours Office arranged visits for 48,000 pupils and students. All of the visits programmes offered by the Education Unit were fully booked for the academic year 2004–05 by mid October 2004.

Postal Services

Kate Hoey: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission for what reason the House authorities have decided to put out to tender the postal services of the House.

Archy Kirkwood: Postal services on the parliamentary estate have never been subject to a formal competitive tender and it was recognised that this was in breach of EU directives, and could attract legal challenge from other suppliers and from the EU Commission itself.
	Royal Mail advised the House in October 2003 that, following their own internal review of mail services supplied to Parliament, they were seeking to increase costs by over 200 per cent. just to maintain the status quo. Parliament has a duty to protect the public purse and justifying such a significant price increase while seeking an exemption from the competitive process was not sustainable.
	Given these facts it was decided that a tendering exercise was essential to ensure value for money for the taxpayer and to comply with EU regulations. It was necessary to advertise the mail service in OJEU and this was done in February 2004. Four firms (including Royal Mail) have been short listed to receive invitations to tender early in 2005.

Public Engagements

Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list his public engagements fulfilled in each month since September.

David Miliband: holding answer 20 December 2004
	My right hon. Friend, the former Minister for the Cabinet Office (Ruth Kelly), carried out the following public engagements between September and 15 December 2004.
	12 October 2004—Speech to the Alliance for Digital Inclusion.
	26 October 2004—Keynote address at the Pharmacy Business Awards dinner.
	9 November 2004—Speech to the Institute of Public Policy Research at the University of London.
	15 December 2004—Speech to the Institute of Public Policy Research's Public Services Forum.

Health Care Funding

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the £214 million increase in health care funding in 2003–04 has been provided for (a) meeting inflation, (b) improving staff terms and conditions of employment, (c) changes in policy on charging for some services and (d) planned service developments.

Angela Smith: The DHSSPS budget uplift for 2003–04 amounted to some £214 million for Healthcare, Personal Social Care, Fire Service and Food Standards Agency. This included:
	(a) £66 million—to meet pay and price inflation,
	(b) £23 million—to improve terms and conditions for staff including the Consultants' New Contract, the Junior Doctors Working Time Directive and the new GP Contract;.
	(c) Specific monies were not made available to address changes in policy on charging for some services.
	(d) £39 million—for planned service developments.

Hospital-acquired Infection

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of MRSA were detected at each hospital in the Province in each of the last 12 months.

Angela Smith: Data on MRSA bacteraeinia rates is collected, collated and analysed by the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC) on a quarterly basis.
	The following table covers the four quarters ending June 2004.
	
		Episodes of MRSA bacteraemia reported by acute trusts in Northern Ireland by quarter: July 2003—June 2004 Quarter
		
			 Trust name July to September 2003 October to December 2003 January to March 2004 April to June 2004 
		
		
			 Altnagelvin hospital 4 6 10 8 
			 Belfast City hospital 15 17 18 9 
			 Causeway 2 2 3 1 
			 Craigavon Area hospital group 5 12 7 8 
			 Down Lisburn 2 2 5 4 
			 Green Park healthcare 2 1 1 1 
			 Mater Infirmorum 7 6 4 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 1 4 2 0 
			 Royal group of hospitals 12 10 13 6 
			 Sperrin Lakeland 6 1 7 5 
			 Ulster community and hospitals 7 4 2 12 
			 United hospitals 9 10 13 10 
			 Total 72 75 85 64 
		
	
	Data for April to June 2004 are provisional. Data quoted do not take account of the activity rates of each trust. Further data and background information on this mandatory surveillance is available at: http://www.cdscni.org.uk/publications/AnnualReports/pdf/3rd%20report%20MRSA%20Blood%20Cultures% 20NI.pdf

Departmental Equipment

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many items of electrical equipment were used by the Department in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) cost and (b) number of each type of item.

David Lammy: The last year that figures are available for my Department is 2004, however they relate only to the number of items of electrical equipment were in use and are not broken down by (a) cost or (b) the number of each type of item. Further, they relate to DCA HQ and Associated Offices only, and exclude the Court Service, which does not hold this information centrally and cannot provide the information without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The question is not specific as to whether the response should include only small electrical items or whether it covers a wider scope including items of plant, servers, lighting installations or air conditioning. As a result, this answer has been prepared using the Portable Appliance Testing records for 2004 which includes all moveable items but excludes items of plant. I believe that this provides us with the most accurate response possible from the information available. The total number of electrical items in use, in my Department in 2004 was 21,410.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on (a) indoor bought plants, (b) indoor hired plants, (c) outdoor bought plants and (d) outdoor hired plants in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: This response relates to the DCA HQ Estate and Associated offices only since the Court Service does not hold any records on this centrally and would have to incur a disproportionate cost to collect the information. Further, the DCA HQ only holds records for the last two years and would incur a disproportionate cost in searching all invoiced records since 1997.
	In the last two years, The DCA HQ estate has spent the following amounts on plants:
	
		
			 £ 
			  (a) (b) (c) (d) 
		
		
			 2003–04 1,0350 5,399 0 0 
			 2004–05 6,360 18,115 0 0 
		
	
	Note:
	To December 2004.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on (a) new furniture and (b) hired furniture in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: My Department has spent the following amounts on furniture in the last 4 years. No central figures are held from prior to 2001 and to obtain them would incur a disproportionate cost.
	Further, this response is based on the DCA HQ Estate and associated offices only since the Court Service is unable to gather this information without disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   £ 
			  New furniture Hired furniture 
		
		
			 2001–2002 527,000 0 
			 2002–2003 640,000 0 
			 2003–2004 1,719,000 0 
			 2004–2005(10) 775,000 0 
		
	
	(10) To December 2004
	For the purposes of this question, furniture has been assumed to include: desks, chairs, pedestals, conference furniture, cupboards, general office storage and high density and mobile storage. The question has been answered in accordance with Cabinet Office Round Robin Guidance (issued 5 January. 2005).

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much the Department spent on lawyers in each year since 1997; how many (a) actions, (b) settlements and (c) court cases there were in each year; and what the costs were of each settlement.

Christopher Leslie: Most litigation brought by or against the Department is handled by the Treasury Solicitor. The Department paid the following amounts in respect of litigation matters handled by the Treasury Solicitor for the period 1997 to date.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of cases worked on by the Treasury Solicitor during the year(11) Fees and disbursements billed to the Department by the Treasury Solicitor (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 159 257,095.61 
			 1998–99 207 468,320.56 
			 1999–2000 218 561,075.75 
			 2000–01 223 522,990.29 
			 2001–02 243 667,695.38 
			 2002–03 269 630,551.13 
			 2003–04 269 675,760.62 
			 2004–05 230 782,364.64 
		
	
	(11) These are the number of litigation matters worked on and billed to the Department by the Treasury Solicitor during the financial year and not necessarily new litigation matters started during that year.
	These figures do not include (i) the Treasury Solicitor's fees for providing legal advice not related to litigation, (ii) fees incurred by external legal advisers for either litigation or non-litigation related work, (iii) damages and costs paid to successful litigants in matters brought against the Department and (iv) fees incurred by counsel where the Department has instructed counsel direct on non-litigation matters.
	The Department does not have the information readily to hand to answer questions (b) , (c) and (d). Collating this information would involve looking at each individual litigation file and, given the number of files involved each year, to conduct this exercise would involve disproportionate cost. The figures given in the table will include cases that have been resolved before the commencement of court proceedings, those that have been resolved by the parties during the course of court proceedings and those that have been determined by the court.

Parental Contact Orders

Theresa May: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what the average length of time has been between the issuing of a contact order for parental rights under the Children Act 1989 and the case being listed for a first conciliation/direction appointment in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many cases of disputed contact were dealt with by the family courts in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003;
	(3)  what guidance he has issued on whether women's refuges constitute adequate accommodation for children when considering awarding of custody in disputed custody cases.

David Lammy: Information on the average length of time between an application for a contact order under the Children Act 1989, and the case being listed for a first conciliation/direction appointment is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, work is under way to explore whether and how this information might be gathered in the future.
	Section 1 (2) of the Children Act 1989 states that "In any proceedings in which any question with respect to the upbringing of a child arises, the court shall have regard to the general principal that any delay in determining the question is likely to prejudice the child". The President of the Family Division has given guidance to family judges to aim for a first hearing dispute resolution appointment within four-six weeks of the application.
	The number of contact orders made in each year in all tiers of court (magistrates courts, county courts and High Court) were:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 (a) 2001 55,030 
			 (b) 2002 61,356 
			 (c) 2003 67,184 
		
	
	Information on how many of these cases were disputed is not collected. However, a substantial majority of contact orders are made in county courts and in 2002–03 approximately 30 per cent. of those contact orders were made with consent.
	No guidance has been issued by my Department to the courts on whether women's refuges constitute adequate accommodation for children when considering awarding of custody in disputed custody cases.
	Section 1 (3) of the Children Act 1989 lists the issues that must be considered in relation to the child's welfare. This includes "his physical, emotional and educational needs" and "how capable each of his parents, and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question relevant of meeting his needs".

Sex Abuse Cases (Quashed Convictions)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal in each of the last five years were historical sex abuse cases.

Christopher Leslie: The Criminal Appeal Office does not hold electronic records which differentiate between recent or historic sexual abuse cases. In 2004 the Court of Appeal quashed 66 convictions in cases involving sexual offences and, in some cases, retrials were ordered. The figures for the preceding years were 56 cases in 2003, 52 cases in 2002, 42 cases in 2001 and 53 cases in 2000. The percentage of those which involve historic abuse could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Travel Costs

Andrew Selous: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total travel costs to his Department have been for (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials for each year since 1997.

David Lammy: holding answer 8 December. 2004
	(a) It is not possible to list the travel costs of each Minister within the Department without incurring disproportionate cost. However, aggregate travel and subsistence costs for the Private Offices, which covers costs for Ministers and Officials was as per the following table:
	
		
			 Period Amount (£) 
		
		
			 2004–05 (to November 04) 47,659 
			 2003–04 64,891 
			 2002–03 83,051 
			 2001–02 60,220 
			 2000–01 98,592 
			 1999–00 59,823 
			 1998–99 40,192 
		
	
	Information on previous years is not readily available.
	In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government has published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government has also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House.
	The Department has published rules for official travel in its staff handbook and ministerial travel is governed by the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	(b) Travel costs for Special Advisors who accompany their Ministers overseas is included in the annual list on Overseas Travel by Cabinet Ministers. Further travel costs for (b) Special Advisers can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	(c) Total travel costs to the Department for (c) officials, which includes domestic and overseas travel and covers costs for the Court Service (CS), the Public Guardianship Office (PGO) and the Department for Constitutional Affairs, Headquarters (DCA HQ) are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Period DCA HQ CS PGO Total DCA 
		
		
			 2004–05 (to 30 November) 1,888,680 2,261,728 30,671 4,181,079 
			 2003–04 2,389,149 3,664,272 34,639 6,088,060 
			 2002–03 1,174,209 3,964,961 41,783 5,180,953 
			 2001–02 1,179,355 3,377,593 61,480 4,618,428 
			 2000–01 1,307,772 2,972,788 43,082 4,323,642 
			 1999–2000 1,096,679 3,215,919 28,751 4,341,349 
			 1998–99 903,983 2,696,618 16,934 3,617,535 
		
	
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the "Ministerial Code" and the "Civil Service Management Code".

Average Earnings (Greater London)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average earnings for (a) males and (b) females working within the Greater London area was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 12 January 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what the average earnings for (a) males and (b) females working within the Greater London area was in the latest period for which figures are available. (201651).
	Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for Annual Survey of Hours and Earning tables. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	The median gross weekly earnings in 2004, for full-time males in Greater London was £597.0 and for females £478.3.
	These data, along with mean gross weekly earnings and details for local authorities, are available on the statistics web site:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme labour/ASHE 2004 mc/tab7 la.xls
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It has a one per cent sample of all employees.
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings publication criteria ensures that published estimates are undisclosive. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.

Businesses (Hertfordshire)

Claire Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the organisations and businesses in Hertfordshire that have received funding from (a) the Department and (b) its arms length bodies in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2003–04.

Jacqui Smith: The majority of departmental funding for Hertfordshire is made available through its arms length bodies. The following table shows a list of Hertfordshire based businesses and organisations in receipt of DTI funding through the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and the Small Business Service (SBS). The list includes Business Link for Hertfordshire whose primary funding is channelled through the regional SBS team based in Cambridge.
	Because the Department's Finance and Resource Management Directorate does not hold information at county level it would not be possible, without disproportionate expense, to provide a comprehensive list of businesses and organisations in Hertfordshire that have received funding from centrally delivered initiatives.
	
		Hertfordshire companies and organisations receiving funding through DTI agencies in financial years ending 31 March 2003 and 2004
		
			   Funded in 
			 Organisation name Funding agency 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 3D Experience Ltd SBS Yes Yes 
			 A and O Consultancy Ltd. SBS Yes Yes 
			 Advanced Visual Technology Ltd. SBS Yes Yes 
			 Apsley Paper Trail EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Ashe Morris Ltd. SBS Yes — 
			 Borehamwood Community Partnership EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Broadband for All—Little Gaddesden EEDA — Yes 
			 Business Link Hertfordshire EEDA Yes — 
			 Business Link Hertfordshire SBS Yes Yes 
			 Camtel SBS Yes Yes 
			 ChemAdd Ltd. SBS — Yes 
			 Chiltern Microwave Ltd. SBS Yes Yes 
			 Cytofluidix Ltd. SBS Yes — 
			 DXG (UK) Ltd. SBS — Yes 
			 EEC (Europe) Ltd. SBS — Yes 
			 Enterprising Communities EEDA — Yes 
			 ETAG Solutions Ltd. SBS — Yes 
			 European Technology for Business Ltd. SBS Yes Yes 
			 Fairclough Hall Farm EEDA Yes — 
			 Food Business Development Consultancy SBS — Yes 
			 Hatfield Heath Broadband EEDA — Yes 
			 Hatfield Regis Grange Farm EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Hertfordshire Business Incubation Centre Ltd. EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Hertfordshire County Council EEDA — Yes 
			 Hertfordshire Enterprise Alliance EEDA Yes — 
			 Hertfordshire Prosperity Forum EEDA — Yes 
			 Hexton Manor Farm EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Innovation Society for the East of England EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Intelligent Personal Security Ltd. SBS — Yes 
			 KeCrypt Ltd. SBS — Yes 
			 Lamerholm Fleming Ltd. SBS Yes — 
			 Lee Valley Regional Park Authority EEDA Yes — 
			 MGM Mills-Rose Farm EEDA Yes — 
			 Naviguide Search Technology Ltd. SBS Yes Yes 
			 New Media Services SBS — Yes 
			 Omnagen Ltd. SBS — Yes 
			 Optical Metrology Centre SBS Yes Yes 
			 PE Mead and Sons EEDA — Yes 
			 Photonics Consultancy SBS Yes Yes 
			 Quadro Healthcare Ltd. SBS — Yes 
			 Raitzen Technologies Ltd. SBS Yes Yes 
			 Realife Trust EEDA Yes — 
			 Rothamsted Research EEDA Yes — 
			 SB Electronic Systems Ltd. SBS Yes — 
			 Screen East (Leavesden) EEDA — Yes 
			 Software for People Ltd. SBS Yes Yes 
			 South West Herts Business Partnership Limited EEDA — Yes 
			 Stevenage Partnership Group EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Syrris Ltd. SBS Yes Yes 
			 The Waltham Cross SRB6 Partnership EEDA Yes — 
			 The Zap Corporation Ltd. SBS — Yes 
			 Trestle Theatre Company EEDA Yes — 
			 University of Hertfordshire EEDA Yes Yes 
			 University of Hertfordshire Business School EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Ware Museum Trust EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Watford Borough Council EEDA — Yes 
			 Welwyn Hatfield Area Regeneration Partnership EEDA Yes Yes 
			 West Watford and South Oxhey Area Partnership Board EEDA Yes Yes 
			 Xennia Technology Ltd. SBS — Yes

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Export Credits Guarantee Department has suspended further cover to BAE Systems pending the outcome of the investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into allegations of false accounting.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 21 December 2004
	ECGD has not suspended further cover to BAE Systems.
	On any application for further cover from BAE Systems ECGD will consider, in accordance with its standard practice, both facts relating to the transaction of which cover is sought and any relevant history of the applicant in other transactions. Conviction for corrupt activity in other transactions would be a prima facie reason not to grant further cover.

Lie Detector Technology

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the value of using lie detector technology when assessing claims for coal disease-related compensation.

Nigel Griffiths: Voice stress technology is increasingly being used by the insurance industry to speed up claims processing. The Department considered whether to do a limited trial to assess its usefulness in Vibration White Finger Services claims but decided against it.

Reach Initiative

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the Reach Initiative regarding unsafe substances; what progress has been made with international consideration of the initiative; what barriers there are to its agreement; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The aim of the proposed REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) is to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment from hazardous substances across the EU, while also ensuring the efficient functioning of the internal market, and stimulating innovation and competitiveness in the industries affected by it. These aims will be achieved by improving the information available to users of substances, including consumers, and public authorities on the potential risks posed by substances.
	On 21 January 2004 the EU notified the proposed Regulation under the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement, providing our trading partners with an opportunity to comment on the proposals. In response to the several comments received, the European Commission gave a detailed presentation to WTO members on the proposed operation and rationale of the REACH Regulation at the TBT Committee held on 4 November 2004 and explained that they considered REACH to be proportionate and did not discriminate against non-EU suppliers.
	The continuing negotiations on REACH will seek to remove barriers to agreement among member states by improving the proposals further. The Government are seeking to reach political agreement under the UK Presidency of the EU during the second-half of this year.